A young entrepreneur named Hosne Mahfuz Shibli has set a shining example by cultivating the famous Saudi and Thai fruit Rock melon in Goala Atanipara field of Sapahar upazila, known as the Barind area of Naogaon.
He has got promising results by cultivating the fruit experimentally for the first time in the district. He plans to cultivate the fruit commercially next year.
Hosne Mahfuz Shibli, said he graduated with honors in economics from Dhaka Commerce College. After completing his studies, he was doing business in the capital city for a long time. In the meanwhile a silent revolution in agriculture started in Sapahar upazila with the production of various fruits including mango.
In a short time, Sapahar Upazila became known to the people of the country as the commercial capital of mango. Competitively, there is a lot of work to be done here. Seeing all this, he left the city with a plan to do something new and returned to his area.
He acquired several acres of land through ancestral sources in Goala Atanipara field of the upazila. Instead of cultivating paddy on that land he established a mango orchard of improved variety. On an acre of land in that mango orchard, he experimentally cultivated foreign fruits and vegetables as a companion crop. As a hobby, he collected yellow melon seeds and rock melon seedlings from Chuadanga, Bogra and Dhaka through a friend from China and planted them on his land.
At present, on one acre of his land he has cultivated the famous Thai fruit Rock Melon, Chinese yellow watermelon, white and black squash, and capsicum of red, green, yellow colors. However, foreign fruit rock melon has been produced in a promising way as compared to other vegetables in the orchard.
According to physicians and experts rock melon makes a special contribution to the prevention of cancer. The fruit is very attractive in taste and smell. It contains sufficient amount of beta carotene which is 20 percent more than orange. The fruit is also rich in vitamin C. Also contains Potassium, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Melanium. This fruit increases the immunity of the human body.
The cost of cultivating this new fruit is the same as other fruits. As the demand and price of watermelon is several times higher than the price of watermelon in the present market, there is a lot of interest among the farmers in the area to cultivate this foreign fruit in the coming days.
In the middle row of mango trees planted in Shibli's garden, there are white rock melon fruits on the tree climbing on the light scaffolding. Each fruit weighed from one kg to three kg. Rock melon has already begun to ripen in his garden. He will be able to market in a week.
Shibli said if he is given official assistance in cultivating these foreign fruits and vegetables, he will be able to cultivate rock melon commercially in the future and export it abroad to meet the country's demand. According to him, it is possible to cultivate foreign fruit very well in this land of Barind land. It can be cultivated three times a year. The fruit is also in great demand in all the markets of the country.
Shibli will produce enough seeds and saplings for next season. He also said that if any foreigner is interested in cultivating these fruits and vegetables, he will provide him assistance and advice.
Deputy Assistant Plant Protection Officer Ataur Rahman said, "This foreign foreign fruit is called rock melon." Although this fruit is cultivated in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries, the soil and climate of the Barind region of our country has adapted the cultivation of this fruit to a great extent. Therefore, there is a bright possibility of cultivating this fruit in the Barind soil of Sapahar upazila.
